The Frozen Rose
by Skywinds
Summary: The Doctor and Rose visit Woman Wept, but after an argument, the Doctor discovers a message from himself.


**We all know I'm rubbish with remembering disclaimers but guess what? I REMEMBERED. :D I do not own Doctor Who or we all know who would still be companion ;)**

**Yay Nine/Rose because we all need more Nine in our lives. :D And now all I'll need is a Rose/11 Ganger fic to cover all the new series Doctors. xD Definitely not abandoning Hidden Moments, it's just that I'm in the middle of watching series one again so this was necessary. xD Also, non-AU! Yay!**

He had been planning this trip for awhile now. Really, it was a place that had been in his mind for awhile now. And after ending up in Cardiff, well, let's just say it wouldn't take a planet as amazing as that to top their last trip. So, the Doctor set the coordinates and they tumbled off through the vortex.

"So, where are we this time? It better not be Cardiff again," Rose asked, a grin emerging on her face. He laughed.

"Trust me, this is as far from Cardiff as you can get, but," he said, "You might want to dress a bit warmer than that," she gave him a curious look, but headed off to the wardrobe without question. Watching her go, a fond smile appeared on his face, but he shook it away and turned to work on the console while he waited.

A short while later, Rose returned in a heavy coat, the weight of which seemed to drag her down a bit.

"I did only say a bit warmer, you know," his gaze sweeping up in down her coat-clad form. She shrugged.

"It was the first one I saw. Now c'mon I want to see this planet!" she said eagerly as she headed towards the door, nearly tripping on the coat. He rolled his eyes before stepping in front of her and removing her large coat and replacing it with his leather jacket.

"Like I said, only something a bit warm," he turned to open the door.

"But what about you?"

"Don't need it. My body temperature is a lot lower than humans. Now," he pushed the door open with a grin on his face, "Rose, welcome to Woman Wept."

Rose gasped at the sight of the beautiful planet before her. The snowy landscape glistened in the sun as waves lapped greedily at the icy shore. It was night time, close to midnight.

Stepping forward, Rose left the warm interior of the TARDIS and gazed at the hills around them. There was not a bit of green in sight-the planet looked like it was frozen in time.

"Why's it called that? Woman Wept?" she asked the Doctor, tearing her gaze from the land to glance up at him. She was surprised to see that his eyes were locked on the rolling waves.

"The largest continent, the one we're on, is shaped like a women a lamenting. Now, if you want to see the real reason came here, I suggest you turn around," the Doctor said quietly, his gaze never wavering.

Curiously, she turned around and gasped. Right as the moon reached directly overhead, the crashing waves froze. In the back of her mind she heard the Doctor explaining how it worked-something about the sun-but her eyes were locked on the towering ice waves.

Slowly, she walked forward until she was right at the edge of the sea. She hesitated for a moment before she felt a cold hand slip into hers and the Doctor and Rose stepped on to the frozen sea together.

They spent awhile just walking under the frozen waves until Rose got the idea to try to climb them. The Doctor was slightly hesitant at first, but since he would eventually agree to do anything she asked of him-though he would never admit that- he found himself trying to scale a wave, and having little luck. Rose, of course, was already at the top.

"C'mon, Doctor it's not that hard!" she said, trying very badly not to laugh. He just stood at the base, arms crossed and definitely not brooding.

"Need some help?" Rose asked, her tongue peaking through her mouth.

"No," he snapped back, kicking the base of the wave.

"Ow," he said as quietly as he could, but she obviously heard him.

"Y'know Doctor, I may not really know-being just a human and all-but I think taking your frustration out on ice might not be the best solution," she smirked down at him.

"So Rose, how are you planning on getting down?" he asked gleefully.

"By...uh..." she hesitated for I moment, "Well, I'll just..." He grinned.

"Good luck with that," the Doctor said before turning around and heading away. He heard her call his name, but he simply kept walking.

The Doctor had planned on heading back rather soon and not going far, but something made him keep walking. He didn't know what, but it was drawing him out, farther and farther from Rose-who he was sure was probably starting to get worried-and out to the icy waves, glistening in the moonlight.

Finally, as the moon approached the horizon he stopped. Whatever had made him wander so far was near. He could feel it. He turned and looked around before he spotted something underneath a small wave.

Curious, he jogged over before looking down at the words carved into the ice.  
'Tell her'. The words themselves were barely legible; it was clear whoever wrote them had shaking hands.

He knelt down and ran his hand over the words before allowing his eyes to fall shut. There was something...familiar about them. There was a small amount of psychic residue on them and despite it's familiarity, he couldn't identify the source. But the Doctor was sure it wasn't what had drawn him out here- it wasn't strong enough.

It was then he noticed the rose.

Carved from ice, the beautiful flower laid just a bit away from the words. He reached out and was able to feel the energy coming from it. The rose was clearly what had been calling him.

When he laid his had on it, he gasped. A song, the saddest song, filled his mind.

_"We will sing you to your sleep, Doctor."_

_"What year is this?"_

_"I don't want to go!"_

The memories left his head as soon as he had registered them, and he would never remember them again.

As he picked up the rose, the song changed. It became happier, celebratory almost. And as he held the rose up to the sun, which was just reaching the horizon, a beam of light struct the rose and it glistened with millions of colours. The Doctor's eyes glanced down to the words carved in ice for a moment more before he set off.

Rose sat on the edge of the wave, watching the sun rise. She sighed, resting her chin on her hand. The Doctor had been gone for hours, and she was getting worried. It wasn't like him to just leave like this. Except that one time...well, she didn't really want to think about it. It always led to her thinking about her dad, dying in front of her...

She shook those thoughts away quickly. Surely he wasn't that angry at her again? She had only teased him, not torn a hole in the fabric of time and space. Though, something had been off about him for awhile now. He would be talking, explaining something to her that she hardly would understand when he would suddenly stop and tilt his head slightly, as if he was hearing something no one else could. Sometimes, he would even mumble something like 'why there?' before seeming to instantly forget it-whatever it was- had even happened.

She was distracted by something in the distance. A figure walking towards her. Rose grinned, her tongue peaking out from her teeth. She knew he would come back. He always did.

As he got closer, her smile faded. Something seemed...off. She didn't know what, but something had changed.

The Doctor was finally able to see the wave that Rose was sitting on. He swallowed nervously. Could he? Could he really tell her? Could he say that he...

_'Rubbish! You daft idiot, you can't even say the words to yourself and you think you'll be able to tell her?'_ he thought ruefully. He glanced down at the rose in his hand as he thought back to the words in the ice. If his future self-he was, after finding the rose, able to tell his own psychic residue on the words, albeit a bit different-told him to say the words, then surely he already had?

_'Or maybe, like the idiot you are, you lost your chance. And now your future self is just screwing up things worse by trying to change the timelines.'_

_'I wouldn't do that. I know what that can cause, and one stupid ape isn't worth the universe.'_

_'Isn't she?'_

He stopped-and most definitely did not give up-the argument with himself at that point as he was approaching the wave Rose was perched on, the rose hidden carefully in one of his bigger-on-the-inside pockets. He stopped when he reached the bottom of the wave and looked up at her.

"Ready to admit you need my help?" he asked. He was silent for a moment as she avoided his gaze, but she finally looked down at him.

"Yes," she muttered, causing the Doctor's face to split into a large grin.

"Right, I need you to jump."

"What?" she backed away a bit and stared at him doubtfully.

"Don't worry, I'll catch you," he said, opening his arms wide.

"You really think you're that good of a catch?" she asked, her eyebrows raised.

"Rose, trust me?"

"Always," her response was almost institanious.

"Right then, jump!" she hesitated a moment more before sliding foreword. She slid off the top of the wave with a scream before landing in his arms, taking both of them down. They burst out laughing. They simply sat there for several minutes giggling before the Doctor abruptly stopped.

"Rose, I've got something for you," he reached into his pocket until he felt the rose. He hesitated for a moment as she sat silently, watching him curiously. Finally, he pulled the rose out of his pocket.

Rose gasped when she saw the beautiful sculpture. Tenderly she reached forward and gently lifted it from his hand. As she raised it up, the sunlight hit it and it suddenly changed from a clear icy white to a million different colours, all shimmering in the early morning sun.

"It's beautiful," she said quietly, he gaze never wandering from the flower.

"This ice that it's made of is special; it'll never melt, never break," he said in a hushed tone. She finally looked up at him, gratitude shining in her eyes.

"Thank you," she whispered. The Doctor seemed on the verge of saying something before he changed his mind and rose to his feet instead, offering her a hand.

"It was no trouble, really," he said as he pulled Rose, who was still cradling the rose gently despite the fact that she couldn't break it, to her feet, "Now, let's get back to the TARDIS. Places to go, people to see."

And hand in hand, the walked back to the TARDIS. The Doctor not realising how much he would come to regret his decision to not say three little words to Rose Tyler.

**Now why can't all my chapters be that long? xD So, this sorta has another part. I mean, it's not really necessary, it would basically be the future Doctor's perspective of this. And, despite the rather fluffiness of this, it would probably be nothing but angst. xD If y'all are interested in seeing that part, tell me in a review. ;)**

**Til next time,**

**Silver**


End file.
